WIIKAT SOILS (>!■ Till-. ALl-.XAXDKl A DIXISION. 213 



lands are" sweet veld," and support a natural vegetatitm of 

 mimosa and forest trees. Kraal manure and guano are gener- 

 ally used in the district for fertilising the soil. Oats and maize 

 vvc the most successful crops raised, but barley is also culti- 

 \ated. The soil has received no other treatment than cultiva- 

 tion during the last live years. 



No. 10 is also a hillside soil collected on the same farm as 

 No. 9, and is rei)resentative of the same class of soil. It has 

 been under cultivation for only one season — about 1906 — but was 

 never manured, so that it is practically a virgin soil. 



No. II, a cultivated l)ut unmanured soil, represents a low, 

 sloping hillside, exposed to south-westerly winds. Formerly 

 splendid wheat crops were grown here, but wheat production 

 now meets with very little success. The sample was taken on 

 the farm " Island View " (part of " Groote Vallei "), about one 

 mile distant from the sea and three to four hundred feet above 

 sea-level. The country is undulating, with a rainfall said to be 

 about 26 inches per annum. The soil, to a depth of 12 to 1=^ 

 inches, is a dark, sandy loam, with a light sandv subsoil. Lime- 

 stone is exposed along the ridges. The present natural vegeta- 

 tion consists of couch grass, but prior to cultivation " tol bos " 

 {I.e., monkey apple) and ordinary sweet veld grass prevailed. 

 There are no indications of brack, nor has the land ever been 

 irrigated. The crops grown are wheat, barley and oats, the last 

 two being most successful. The only manuring jjractised is 

 green soiling, and the soil has received no other treatment dtir- 

 ing the last five years. 



No. 12 represents a level surface of virgin soil from plains 

 on the same farm. 



No. 13 was a cultivated but unmanured sandy loam from a 

 valley on the farm " Kruisfontein," of Mr. J. J. van Rooyen, 

 about seven miles from the coast. The country around is level, 

 and the dark-coloured, sandy loam which composes the surface 

 soil extends downwards some three or four feet with a grey 

 sand of unknown depth below it. The veld is a mixture of sour 

 and sweet vegetation. Kraal manure is generally used for 

 fertilising the soil of the district together with some guano, and 

 the crops generally grown are barley, maize, and oats, the first 

 two being the more successful. Wheat grows, but is subject 

 to disease. 



No. 14 represented an uncultivated soil from land adjoin- 

 ing the ground in the valley whence sample No. 13 had been 

 taken, on Mr. J. J. van Rooyen's farm " Kruisfontein." It 

 was in all other respects similar in character to No. 13. 



No. 15 was a valley soil from the farm " Doomkloof," of 

 Mr. J. M. Scheepers, distant seven miles from the sea, and about 

 100 feet above sea-level. The rainfall is stated to be atout 26 

 inches per annum. The country round about is hilly, and the 

 sandy surface soil goes down to a depth of about 3 feet, its 

 colour varying between grey and red. The subsoil is potclay 

 of unknown depth. The veld is what is locally known as 

 •' broken," i.e., sweet in some parts, and sour in others. Guano 



